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Part of the FOX philosophy on extreme close-ups on players' faces is that they are bringing you something you can't see if you were at the game. Another thing you can't see at the game is ANYTHING BUT THE FINAL PLAY.

Part of the FOX philosophy on extreme close-ups on players' faces is that they are bringing you something you can't see if you were at the game. Another thing you can't see at the game is ANYTHING BUT THE FINAL PLAY.

Given Fox's dreadful production performance, maybe we just try to convince whatever idiot handles the control room that he's not actually doing a baseball broadcast but is instead in charge of Fox's newest reality show: Random #### and Video of Stuff not all that Germane to the Topic at Hand. Then - by the law of reverse averages, perhaps s/he'd end up showing more of the game during the broadcast.

We were commenting on this kind of things all game (hell, all playoffs). You rarely get to see the full defensive set-up; you often did not even see the catcher's signal. BUT I can tell you exactly which players exfoliate.

After the first 37 close-ups of the pitcher peering in for the sign, it just becomes visual noise.

We were commenting on this kind of things all game (hell, all playoffs). You rarely get to see the full defensive set-up; you often did not even see the catcher's signal. BUT I can tell you exactly which players exfoliate.

Yeah, I would love more shots of the defensive alignment, and it's something the broadcasters already talk about so they could do little packages in between pitches showing the alignment for a batter when he's been up with runners on/nobody on base/different game states. They also need to get with the times and have the pitch tracker up when the pitch is thrown.

Postseason.TV (through MLB.com) was the absolute best. You could watch the game, and were given a choice of a dozen different camera angles to choose between, and could even watch from multiple angles simultaneously. You could actually choose to see where the fielders were set up on every play, how big a lead the runners were getting, how quickly the batter was getting out of the box--EVERYTHING! And there was none of the stupid stuff, either--no interviews with backup catchers in the 4th inning, no shots of fans, no 100 replays of the previous pitch...it was the closest thing I've ever experienced to actually being at the ballpark.

I hope that that's the future of sports broadcasting in the United States--more personalization, more niche audiences, and the like. We clearly have the technology for it already--why not give it a whirl?

You rarely get to see the full defensive set-up; you often did not even see the catcher's signal.

Buck and McCarver don't always tell you the defensive set-up... I can't recall if it was last night or in Game 3, but at some point there was the distinct possibility the Red Sox would play the infield in, though they could have been in at the corners and back halfway hoping to turn the DP... And Buck says nothing and there's no shot of the set-up, so I had no idea how the Red Sox were playing it. It was maddening... I mean that's kind of Broadcaster 101 there.

We were commenting on this kind of things all game (hell, all playoffs). You rarely get to see the full defensive set-up; you often did not even see the catcher's signal. BUT I can tell you exactly which players exfoliate.

Yeah, defensive alignment would be nice to show before each hitter, or at least if it has changed. Not just when Ortiz is up. But even there, we don't REALLY see an overview of where the fielders are.

It was just ridiculous that they missed the shot of Uehara throwing over, but par for the course, unfortunately. All of a sudden the game is over and there was no lead-up as to why.

There was a Murdoc on MacGyver, the evil villain who never died (even after doing things like falling off of cliffs) and always set up elaborate American Gladiator type arrangements for MacGyver to try to get out of, instead of just shooting him dead, already. I mean, the guy doesn't use a gun. And you are having a hard time killing him?

To defend them just a bit (although I also think it was a terrible, terrible moment):

Their puppet masters have been yelling at them to show ANYTHING during the moments of nothingness (such as a pitcher looking at the catcher's signs), which leaves the broadcast extra-susceptible to this kind of thing

They know that "Casual Fans" (I kinda dispute this concept, thus the scare quotes) tune in for the World Series, and so FOX is trying to grab them along with actual baseball fans by amping up the drama, such as showing a person like this in the stands at a big moment; not trusting the audience to understand on their own that this is a big moment.

I've been in productions of baseball games for television. "Don't miss a pitch!" is repeated ad nauseum. But this is every bit as important.

We were commenting on this kind of things all game (hell, all playoffs). You rarely get to see the full defensive set-up; you often did not even see the catcher's signal. BUT I can tell you exactly which players exfoliate.

I completely agree with this, but it was amusing watching close-ups of the hillbilly meth dealer pitching to Rutherford B. Hayes for the first four innings. Beards do weird things to a guy's look.

Is there a better capper to Tim McCarver's broadcasting career than watching that pickoff after listening to McCarver rant for 10 minutes about how stupid it was for Napoli to be holding on the runner? McCarver wasn't entirely wrong about that, but I enjoyed the irony.

FOX is trying to grab them along with actual baseball fans by amping up the drama, such as showing a person like this in the stands at a big moment; not trusting the audience to understand on their own that this is a big moment

Dave Magadan did not remember Kirk Radomski. But as soon as Magadan, the batting coach for the Boston Red Sox, learned that Radomski’s nickname was “Murdoch,” he immediately recalled the former Mets clubhouse attendant and bat boy.

“He was huge,” Magadan said. “I mean, huge.”

Radomski pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to charges of distributing steroids to dozens of major league players and to money laundering. He faces a 25-year sentence and a $500,000 fine. He has also created something of an earthquake for a sport whose image has been tarnished by the issue of steroids.

“That’s not good,” Magadan said of the guilty plea. [...]

Al Leiter, who played for the Mets after Radomski left the organization and now works as a broadcaster for the Yankees, said he had a vague recollection of a burly individual with the “Murdoch” nickname. Leiter said that he found out about Radomski’s guilty plea in a call from Gene Orza, who is the chief operating officer of the Players Association.

this is not exclusive to FOX by any stretch. the packers played last night and there was a facemask penalty called on a packer lineman and not only did nbc miss it live they never bothered with any replay. this is routine on national football broadcasts, pro and college.

Bad as it was that the shot of the girl in the stands took preference over the game-ending play, an even worse distraction is all those mid-inning interviews with that bow-tied geek with the doofus grin, some of which cut into the game itself.

Is there a better capper to Tim McCarver's broadcasting career than watching that pickoff after listening to McCarver rant for 10 minutes about how stupid it was for Napoli to be holding on the runner? McCarver wasn't entirely wrong about that, but I enjoyed the irony.

My main thought during those throw-overs was that the Red Sox wanted to keep intact the possibility of a game-ending double play. Of course once Carpenter had been retired for the second out, it was a moot point.

There are situations where getting picked off is at least understandable, even defensible. For example, had Dave Roberts been picked off of first base by The Humble One during that fateful Game 4 in 2004 it would have been a defensible CS in light of the risk/reward there.

The Feds (rightly) usually frown on distributing prescription drugs without a license. Oh, and money laundering.

Yeah, I frown on that too. I also frown on pickpockets and drunk drivers. That doesn't make a 25 year sentence reasonable. Those should be reserved for far more serious crimes, that go beyond mere frowning.

The sub-thread about whether or not the tween girl in this gif is or is not cute is bothersome.

Why? And I am OK with sub-threads on whether guys (of all ages) are cute or not. Especially since the "cuteness" is part of the story, since I am pretty sure no one here believes the camera would have been on her had she not be reasonably camera friendly in some way.

Not my problem. I have been clear on my position regarding the playoffs. This year I forgot about game 1, checked radio scores between listening to music while driving for game 2, ignored game 3 entirely, and followed the last few innings of game 4 via GameCast. I don't tune into television and I try to avoid the radio because I abhor the crowd noise and general atmosphere of playoff games.

You know I don't actually watch playoff games even if the Braves are involved, right?

I have been clear on my position regarding the playoffs. This year I forgot about game 1, checked radio scores between listening to music while driving for game 2, ignored game 3 entirely, and followed the last few innings of game 4 via GameCast. I don't tune into television and I try to avoid the radio because I abhor the crowd noise and general atmosphere of playoff games.

Yeah, I can see why a Braves fan would avoid any contact with PLAYOFF games, especially when the Braves are involved. You may be a neckstabber, but you're not a masochist.

I have been clear on my position regarding the playoffs. This year I forgot about game 1, checked radio scores between listening to music while driving for game 2, ignored game 3 entirely, and followed the last few innings of game 4 via GameCast. I don't tune into television and I try to avoid the radio because I abhor the crowd noise and general atmosphere of playoff games.

So you're saying that the epic tantrums you throw during Braves playoff games are all without the benefit of even knowing what's going on? You're admitting that you scream and shout based on incomplete information?